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Stony Brook, N.Y. - For just the second time in program history, the Stony Brook men's soccer team (9-5-3, 4-2-1 AE) will head into the America East Playoffs as the top seed. The Seawolves host No. 5 Hartford (8-9-3, 2-3-2 AE) in a semifinal game on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m.
Scouting HartfordÂ
Hartford advanced to the semifinal match by way of a 2-1 road victory at No. 4 New Hampshire in the quarters on Saturday. The Hawks fell behind 1-0 before rallying for the victory behind an 87th minute goal by Bastian Stech.
Stony Brook defeated the Hawks 3-1 in its regular-season meeting with Hartford, but the match was much closer than the final score would indicate. In fact, the Seawolves trailed the match 1-0 in the 78th minute before junior midfielder Thibault Duval (Liege, Belgium) struck twice in a six-minute stretch. Sophomore first team all-conference midfielder Serge Gamwanya (Trondheim, Norway) added the nail in the coffin with an 87th minute goal.
Playoff Record
Under head coach Ryan Anatol, the Seawolves are 3-2-1 in conference tournament play, losing the only tie to Binghamton in penalty kicks. The Seawolves are 6-5-4 all-time in the America East Tournament. In its four ties, they have ended up victorious in three via penalty kicks.
All-Conference Team
The Seawolves were well-represented in the America East All-Conference Team with seven members receiving recognition. Gamwanya topped the list with first team honors, while Duval and junior Danny Espinoza (East Meadow, N.Y) landed on the second team.Â
Stony Brook's Vince Erdei (Budapest, Hungary), who is tied for the team lead in goals, was honored on the all-academic team with sophomore Steven Ghitis (Weston, Fla.).Â
Freshmen Stephen Turnbull (Holtsville, N.Y.) and Jarred Dass were named to the All-Rookie Team.
Eye on the Prize
Stony Brook is eyeing a spot in the America East Championship for the first time since 2011. Stony Brook hasn't appeared in a semifinal since 2012, a 1-0 loss to UMBC, and is 1-1 in semifinals games under Anatol.Â
